Friday, November 20, 2015

Nigerian Nightmare

Abubakar Shekau

My heart was already broken over the attacks in Paris. After I spent a few glorious days in Paris, that city became "my" city. Her people became "my" people. Now, my heart is broken over the latest from Nigeria. Do you remember the Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram? Most of them are still missing. After I prayed for their release and protection for weeks on end, those girls became part of me, and I have not forgotten them. The people of Nigeria became "my" people and I love them. Today, I weep with them. Now, my people have suffered yet another atrocity. Two bombers, one in Yola and one in Kano, have caused at least forty-five deaths and nearly 200 injuries in the last twenty-four hours. As if that news was not bad enough, there is more tragedy. The bombers were female. One was 18 years old and one was 11 years old.A child, a little girl, blew herself up. The girls were delivered to their bomb targets by a minivan carrying four other children, presumably also potential bombers. I can't begin to imagine what kind of madness convinces a child this is a good idea. What kind of evil would recruit a little girl to do this?No one has claimed responsibility yet, but Boko Haram, closely allied with ISIS, is the leading suspect. Abubakar Shekau (photo above) is the leader of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Law enforcement personnel are actively pursing those responsible for these latest atrocities, but they desperately need our help, our prayer support.Please join me in praying for the people of Nigeria and specifically for those who have lost loved ones in these latest attacks. Pray, too, for those who are injured, that they might recover from their wounds. Pray that no root of bitterness results from the actions of Boko Haram, but that, instead, people will be drawn to faith in God. Pray for the terrorists who orchestrated these attacks and for the children still in their control. Pray for restoration of a culture oflife that values every life, every child and rises up against those who would destroy life.I realize we could pray non-stop and never completely cover any one of the horrors our world faces today, but we must not become discouraged. Today, the people of Nigeria are heartbroken. As the body of Christ, those believers in Nigeria are one with us. We share their joy and, today, we share their sorrow. We weep with you, Nigeria. We pray for you. We are so sorry, so very sorry for your loss.Pray without ceasing. It's the most important thing we can do.
__________
For other posts on this topic, here are additional links:Bringing the Kidnapped Nigerian Girls Home, Persisting in Prayer, Persecuted Church in Nigeria, and Aba-naphoto by www.telegraph.co.uk~~~~~~~~~~~~In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Grateful Heart: Worldwide Kindness, Remembering Paris, Persevering for Paris, Resisting Evil, Praying for Peace, Answered Prayers in Disguise, and Grateful Heart: Mizpah.